High praise from the national newspapers

LOCALS and regular visitors to our town have always known about the many wonderful things Whitby has to offer but this week our town has attracted acclaim from across the country.

The town has been praised for being one of the best seaside resorts in the country among other things and also as one of the best places in the UK ... to learn how to drive.

In two national newspapers last weekend Whitby made it into their polls.

The Sunday People reported how, according to figures released by the Department for Transport, Whitby features in the list of 25 places in the country with the lowest failure rate for those taking their driving test.

Last year 354 people took their test for the first time and only 39.8% failed compared to Wanstead in East London where out of 4,826 drivers taking their tests more than 71% failed.

In another Sunday national which was listing the top 10 seaside cottages, Adventure Cottage in the town came second behind a former coastguard’s watchhouse in Devon.

The Sunday Mirror said the comfortable house in Church Street was “ideal for an adults only get together” and just a short walk from the “three mile stretch of sandy beach and attractive waterfront promenade”.

Meanwhile, Whitby was also being picked out from hundreds of seaside locations around the country in a survey by motoring and leisure association, the CSMA club.

The results have been published online on the MSN travel website and Whitby is 10th.

It said: “Over 60% of us like to indulge in a visit to the chippy while on a seaside break, and few places do fish and chips better than Whitby.

“There’s a unique feel to this former fishing port; a touch bohemian, perhaps, with the old lanes and fisherman’s cottages now home to boutiques, bars and gift shops.

“Hole up in the elegant Marine Hotel, and take a stroll up to the 13th Century Whitby Abbey, voted the most romantic ruin in the UK”.

And speaking of fish and chips, in a list of the top 10 most talked about restaurants featured on Trip Advisor, The Magpie Cafe is rubbing shoulders with celebrity chef Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Cornwall.

According to the website hungry customers should “believe the hype – these are the best fish and chips ever.”

And Whitby also got a mention on Tuesday night’s One Show on the BBC as singer Melanie C was promoting her new album, The Sea.

The image for the cover was shot in Boggle Hole near Robin Hood’s Bay – as exclusively revealed in your Whitby Gazette last week.